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Celebrity-Voice Wake Up Calls Start in NYC Schools

February 28, 2011

SchoolMessenger delivers messages to at-risk students as part of Mayor Bloomberg's WakeUp! NYC Campaign

SchoolMessenger, a leading provider of parent notification solutions for education, today announced the start of celebrity-voice wake up calls as part of Mayor Bloomberg's WakeUp! NYC multimedia campaign designed to reduce truancy and chronic absenteeism in New York City schools.

Through the WakeUp! NYC campaign, beginning this morning, chronically absent students and students at-risk of becoming chronically absent will receive inspirational wake up phone calls to encourage school attendance. The calls include messages from celebrities such as Magic Johnson, Jose Reyes, Trey Songz and others.

"SchoolMessenger and our other media partners in this campaign are helping us generate a new awareness about the importance of school every day - amplifying the impact of the many new, multiagency strategies the Task Force is piloting at our schools and elsewhere this year to reduce truancy and chronic absenteeism," said Leslie Cornfeld, a former federal prosecutor and former director of the Mayor's Task Force on Child Safety and Welfare, who is chair of the Mayor's Interagency Task Force on Truancy and Chronic Absenteeism.

"SchoolMessenger is proud to be part of such an innovative, comprehensive effort to reduce truancy and absenteeism," said Sanford Kenyon, president and CEO of SchoolMessenger. "This new program builds on our 11-year partnership with the New York City Department of Education, nation's largest school system, where SchoolMessenger notification services have been proven to positively impact academic achievement, increase parent involvement and reduce absenteeism."

About SchoolMessenger

SchoolMessenger is a leading provider of notification solutions for education. Thousands of school districts, public schools, colleges, universities, private schools and other educational facilities in all 50 states depend on the company's innovative solutions to connect and effectively communicate with millions of parents, students and staff every day. Founded in 1999, the company is headquartered in Santa Cruz, California. For information, visit http://www.schoolmessenger.com or call 888.527.5225.